Ruth Benedict (1887 - 1948)

Ruth Fulton Benedict was a US anthropologist and folklorist. After studying anthropology at the New School of Social Research under Elsie Clews Parsons, she entered graduate studies at Columbia University in 1921, where she studied under Franz Boas. She received her PhD and joined the faculty in 1923. Margaret Mead, with whom she shared a romantic relationship, and Marvin Opler, were among her students and colleagues.

Franz Boas, her teacher and mentor, has been called the father of American anthropology and his teachings and point of view are clearly evident in Benedict's work.

Benedict held the post of President of the American Anthropological Association and was also a prominent member of the American Folklore Society. She became the first woman to be recognized as a prominent leader of a learned profession. She can be viewed as a transitional figure in her field, redirecting both anthropology and folklore away from the limited confines of culture-trait diffusion studies and towards theories of performance as integral to the interpretation of culture. She studied the relationships between personality, art, language and culture, insisting that no trait existed in isolation or self-sufficiency, a theory which she championed in her 1934 book, Patterns of Culture. source; Wikipedia

Known for
Influence on fellow anthropologist Margaret Mead (incl romantic)

Although Ruth Benedict's fascination with death started at an early age, she continued to study how death affected people throughout her career. In her book Patterns of Culture (1934), Benedict studied the Pueblo culture and how they dealt with grieving and death. She describes in the book that individuals may deal with reactions to death, such as frustration and grief, differently. Societies all have social norms that they follow; some allow more expression when dealing with death, such as mourning, while other societies are not allowed to acknowledge it.

One of Benedict's lesser known works was a pamphlet "The Races of Mankind" which she wrote with her colleague at the Columbia University Department of Anthropology, Gene Weltfish. This pamphlet was intended for US troops and set forth, in simple language with cartoon illustrations, the scientific case against racist beliefs.

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946), a study of the society and culture of Japan, incorporating results of her war-time research.

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